Modernise. Mobilise. Secure.The leading event in partnership with the Lithuanian Land Forces at the epicentre of NATO’s eastern flank, driving integrated capability and regional deterrence.

09 - 10 December, 2025 | VIlnius, Lithuania

AGENDA DAY ONE | 19 NOVEMBER 2024

Strategic Overview

8:40 AM CET DEFENCE iQ WELCOME

8:45 AM CET CHAIRMEN’S OPENING REMARKS

Lieutenant General (Ret) Corneliu Postu
Lieutenant General (Ret) Corneliu Postu Former Director of Defence Staff Romanian Armed Forces

10:00 AM CET LAND FORCES MODERNISATION EFFORTS: STAYING AHEAD OF THE REGIONAL THREAT


·       Training and equipping soldiers and troops to use modern armoured platforms, artillery systems, air defence missiles as top priority 

·       Utilising new technologies: the effectiveness of simulation to prepare forces for combat

·       Enabling a force to become more efficient and better prepared to tackle new challenges

Lieutenant General Iulian Berdila
Lieutenant General Iulian Berdila Deputy CHOD for Operations and Training Romanian Armed Forces

10:30 AM CET KEYNOTE ADDRESS: LAND FORCES MODERNISATION EFFORTS: KEEPING PACE OF THE ADVERSARY IN THE NEXT 5-10 YEARS


  • The development of armoured platforms, artillery, air defence and the industrial base as a top priority
  • Overcoming the challenges of transformation
  • Enabling a force to become more efficient and better prepared to tackle new challenges

11:30 AM CET INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

12:00 PM CET V-CORPS LOGISTICS, SUPPORT AND RESUPPLY OPERATIONS IN HIGH-INTENSITY COMBINED OPERATIONS


 

·       The criticality of training for the modern battlefield requires comprehensive training programs and improved interoperability with allied nations

·       The importance of our NATO allies and the integrating warfighting functions to include intel, fires, manoeuvre, sustainment to make the kill chain successful.

·       The importance of a kill contract to allow the Corps to focus targeting on IAD, C2, Logistics, and the Integrated Fires Command which will in return shape the fight for the divisions.

 

Brigadier General Matthew Brown .
Brigadier General Matthew Brown . Deputy Commanding General – Readiness U.S. Army V Corps

12:30 PM CET ENHANCING COMBINED MANOEUVRE CAPABILITIES: THE FUTURE OF DEEP-STRIKE INTEGRATION


·       The need for improved training and integration with intelligence and command and control systems to fully utilise technological advancements.

·        Disrupting enemy capabilities, observations from the Ukraine conflict and the importance of precision deep-strike integration with intelligence, leveraging commercial drones, and agile networking

·       Restructuring forces to enhance military capabilities and better integrate new systems

Colonel Jonty Moore MBE
Colonel Jonty Moore MBE ACOS Targets Headquarters ARRC

CONFERENCE STREAMS

ARMOURED VEHICLES

2:30 PM CET THE FUTURE OF LATVIAS MECHANIZED INFANTRY BRIGADE


  • Colonel Oskars Kudlis - Commander - National Armed Forces of Latvia Land Forces Mechanized Infantry Brigade

3:30 PM CET PANEL DISCUSSION: APPROACHED MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS


  • Enhancing interoperability between allied partnerships and strengthening deterrence posture
  • Developing comprehensive training programs to enhance readiness and interoperability
  • The difficulties in implementing integrated tactics such as combined arms operations and information warfare 

4:30 PM CET INTELLIGENCE FORMING REQUIREMENTS


  • Dwayne Hynes - Chief of Foreign Intelligence Technology, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2 - U.S. Army

·       US Army’s activities in developing requirements for threat models

·       Addressing current and future challenges for vehicles in combat

·       Integration of intelligence into capability development and working with industry to meet requirements for armoured vehicles

5:00 PM CET ACHIEVING POLAND’S TOP MODERNISATION PRIORTY


·       Poland’s response to the invasion in Ukraine and increased demand  

·       Working with local industry to deliver vehicle development requirements  

·       The acquisition of 1,400 new armoured vehicles 

INDIRECT FIRES

2:00 PM CET RECENT SLOVAK ARTILLERY ‚RESURRECTION‘ AND THE WAY AHEAD


  • Colonel Jan Hric - 5th Artillery Regiment Commander - Slovak Armed Forces

  • Slovak Zuzana 2: The success of Slovak howitzers
  • Establishing joint developments of artillery between nations
  • Continuing modernisation project of Slovak Land Forces: Future plans to increase indirect fire range and to purchase vehicles for artillery reconnaissance

2:30 PM CET STRATEGIC DETERRENCE THROUGH LONG RANGE PRECISION FIRES


·       Commonality & Interoperability on the Battlefield

·       Precisions Fires & JADC2 as an enabler to shorten the Kill chain

·       The Impact of the Next Generation of Long-range Precisions Fire on the future of artillery

3:30 PM CET ENHANCING MANOEUVRABILITY CAPABILTIES


  • Lieutenant Colonel Allan Raidma - Artillery Battalion Commander - Estonian Defence Forces

  • Maintaining a supply of ammunition, fuel, and spare parts close at hand to minimise downtime during relocation
  • Ensuring high levels of situational awareness
  • Increasing the speed of manoeuvrability of artillery systems

4:30 PM CET SLOVENIAN ARMED FORCES: ARTILLERY IN THE MODERN BATTLEFIELD


  • Lieutenant Colonel Dejan Šibilja - Artillery Capabilities Development Officer - Slovenian Armed Forces

·       The modernisation of new weapon systems; including plans to acquire and maintain artillery capability in Slovenian Armed Forces

·       Exploiting the full potential of UAVs; integration with services (especially with artillery)

·       Expanding current capability and supporting multi-domain operations

5:00 PM CET UPGRADING ROMANIA’S ARTILLERY SYSTEMS


 

·       Utilising K9 and K10 artillery systems for enhance accuracy and speed at great distances of 40km

·       Increasing the efficiency of operation, production and maintenance of newly procured artillery systems

·       Minimising collateral damage: the utility of precision-guided artillery munitions and systems with extended range capabilities

AGENDA DAY TWO | 20 NOVEMBER 2024

Group 1

8:50 AM AEDT CHAIRMEN’S OPENING REMARKS

Lieutenant General (Ret) Corneliu Postu
Lieutenant General (Ret) Corneliu Postu Former Director of Defence Staff Romanian Armed Forces

9:00 AM AEDT KEYNOTE ADDRESS: ROMANIAN PERSPECTIVE ON COOPERATION BETWEEN MILITARY AND INDUSTRY


·       Recent acquisitions and overview of military assets

·       Collaborating with domestic and international defence companies; technology transfer and local production

·       Upgrading military systems to meet NATO standards: upcoming procurement project with aims to modernise forces

Cristina Dragomirescu
Cristina Dragomirescu Vice President Romanian Agency for Technological and Industrial Cooperation for Security and Defense - ARCTIS

10:00 AM AEDT OPERATION ALTHEA: EURFOR

Major General Lazslo Sticz Ph.D.
Major General Lazslo Sticz Ph.D. Commander EUFOR Althea

ARMOURED VEHICLES

11:00 AM AEDT SLOVAK DEFENSE’S MODERNISATION PLANS


  • Lieutenant Colonel Peter Bystriansky - Senior SME, Land Forces Development Department - Slovak Ministry of Defence

• Implemented a modernisation plan that includes phasing out legacy platforms in favor of off-the-shelf IFVs

• Increased mobility and survivability with new MBTs

• Improving firepower and situational awareness through the acquisition of vehicles

12:00 PM AEDT THE FUTURE OF AUTONOMOUS ARMOURED VEHICLES AND THE ROLE OF AI AND MACHINE LEARNING IN IMPROVING THEIR PERFORMANCE


  • Advantages of using uncrewed vehicles and intelligent armoured vehicles on the battlefield
  • How autonomous technologies such as AI and machine learning can be applied to improve the performance of armoured vehicles, including the potential for automated control, sensory systems and image recognition
  • The challenges of designing autonomous systems for armoured vehicles, such as the safety and security of the technology and the complexity of decision-making required to operate safely in a variety of situations

12:30 PM AEDT LUNCH AND NETWORKING

1:30 PM AEDT TRAINING WARFIGHTERS TO OPERATE NEW AND MORE ADVANCED MECHANISED TECHNOLOGY


·       Army integration of VR and simulations to improve the delivery of training to troops on a large scale

·       The challenges that come with training for multi-domain operations; enhancing investment during peacetime

Understanding the dimensions of MDO and preparing soldiers for these: terrain, human factors, information

2:30 PM AEDT PANEL DISCUSSION: LESSONS OBSERVED FROM THE UKRAINE-RUSSIA WAR


·        As recent military actions in Ukraine demonstrate, land warfare continues to be increasingly complex. What lessons can we draw from recent activities in Ukraine?

·       Is there evidence to support claims that armoured vehicles are generally vulnerable in the modern battlespace?

Aside from technology, what role are other factors like training, terrain and tactics playing?

3:30 PM AEDT MAIN BATTLE TANKS AND ACTIVE PROTECTION FIELD


 

·       Lessons learnt from Ukraine conflict

·       Enhancing MBTs mobility and firepower

·       How Turkish Industry is enhancing Survivability through Active Protection Systems 

4:30 PM AEDT SLOVAK DEFENSE’S MODERNISATION PLANS


 

·       Implemented a modernisation plan that includes phasing out legacy platforms in favor of off-the-shelf IFVs.

·       Increased mobility and survivability with new MBTs

·        Improving firepower and situational awareness through the acquisition of vehicles.

INDIRECT FIRES

11:00 AM AEDT The Place and Role of the Polish artillery in the Joint Fire Support of the Land Forces of the future


  • Brigadier General Grzegorz Potrzuski - Land Forces Field Artillery Chief - Polish Armed Forces

• Interoperability and ensuring seamless coordination with allied forces

• Incorporating advanced targeting systems to enhance precision in joint fire support

• Developing more mobile artillery units to support rapid deployment

12:00 PM AEDT ENHANCING INDIRECT FIRE CAPABILITIES OF THE LITHUANIAN ARMED FORCES.


  • Lieutenant Colonel Aušrius Buikus - Chief of Joint Fires and Effect branch J3 - Lithuanian Army

  • ·Current and Future projects in Joint Fires and Effects
  • NATO’s Steadfast Defender 2024: lesson’s identified from artillery exercise and training 

12:30 PM AEDT LUNCH AND NETWORKING

1:30 PM AEDT THE EVOLUTION OF THE SWISS ARMOUR AND ARTILLERY TRAINING DUE TO THE CURRENT SITUATION


  • Colonel Gregoire Solioz - Commander Artillery Training Center 30 - Swiss Armed Forces

• Key observations from Ukraine: A Swiss perspective

• Improving the efficiency of Switzerland’s training command across artillery and armour

• Future plans: accelerating training programs for Swiss soldiers

2:30 PM AEDT PANEL DISCUSSION: UAVs, Advanced Surveillance and C2 Innovations in improving precision


·       The King of Battle: has Ukraine’s successful use of HIMARS illuminated the value of precision munitions?

·       The success of C2 systems in coordinating and executing artillery missions

Advantages and disadvantages of using armed drones to ground-based targets than traditional aircraft could enable greater precision in targeting

3:30 PM AEDT REDUCING THE IMPACT OF THE UKRAINE WAR ON THE SUPPLY CHAIN


  • Tim Ingersoll - Section Chief, PzH 2000 Life Cycle Management - NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA)

• Building up a logistics support structure and resiliency for customer nations

• Pros and cons of this common approach to life cycle management support

• Supply chain management in times of crisis

4:30 PM AEDT USE OF INDIRECT FIRES IN THE CURRENT OPERATING THEATRE AND THE LESSONS LEARNT


  • Colonel Gregory Tomlin - Army Capability Manager for Division Artillery - U.S. Army

·       Comparative capabilities of artillery assets 

·       Transition from Soviet style artillery systems to NATO models 

·       Application experience and benefits of adopting more mobile systems

·       Minimising collateral damage: the utility of precision-guided artillery munitions and systems with extended range capabilities 

5:30 PM AEDT CHAIRMAN'S CLOSING REMARKS

Lieutenant General (Ret) Corneliu Postu
Lieutenant General (Ret) Corneliu Postu Former Director of Defence Staff Romanian Armed Forces
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